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Dream Dwarves
History The origins of the Dream Dwarves began when the elders of Tanthalthud organized a scouting mission to explore Nilgoav Island, an island to Tanthalthud’s southwest, in 620. The purpose of the mission was to explore the mountains of the island, to survey what, if any, metallic ores could be found there, and extracted. By year’s end, the mission landed on the island, and was operating out of Kella-Thus, an abandoned Goliath city located in the Eukathom Mountains. It was in the mountains that these Dwarves first came into contact with dreamstones, the magical rocks that aided those possessing them to enter into the Plane of Dreams, and aid them in manifesting themselves there. When the mission ended, and the group was to return to Tanthalthud, many chose to stay behind on the island, claiming to be interesting in protecting the Dwarven kingdom’s possible territorial claim. In reality, however, most had already succumbed to the addictive nature of the Plane of Dreams, and sought to continue using dreamstones to access it. Thirteen years later, in 634, the elders of Tanthalthud decided that the operational costs outweighed the net gains of funding such a colony, all remaining Dwarves on the island were asked to return. By this point, however, the small population on the island was firmly in the “grip” of the Plane of Dreams, and had no interest in returning to the mainland. They renounced their citizenship and declared themselves an independent nation. Prompted by their collective desire-border-on-obsession on entering into the Plane of Dreams, the Dwarves of Khajadûn, their city-state on the site of Kella-Thus, began using dominating magics and other methods to enslave the local Goliath population. This was not done maliciously, however. The Dwarves were so firm in the grasp of the Plane of Dreams that their notions of morals dissolved. They sought to make deeper and deeper contact with the magical world, and began using the Goliath as an ends to the means of doing this. It is at this point that anthropologists consider the Dream Dwarf race being born, with many having already been physiologically altered due to their excessive contact with the Plane of Dreams. Outlook Dream Dwarves exist simply to transcend the mortal world, to put it simply. Their society stresses “contacting” the Plane of Dreams, a process in which the mind leaves the body and travels to the that plane, turning the individual doing this into a literal lucid dream, of sorts. They are not nihilistic, in that they want to material world to end, but they see the material world as little more than a diversion to their quest to permanently insert themselves into the Plane of Dreams. Description Dream Dwarves stand about four feet tall, and are normally thinner and gaunter than other Dwarves. Their skin color ranges from dark gray to light brown, while their hair color ranges from white to black. Their eyes are normally light greens or blues, but purple, orange, and red hues are not unheard of. Dream Dwarves do not sleep as members of most other races do. Instead, a Dream Dwarf meditates in a deep trance for four hours a day. A Dream Dwarf resting in this fashion gains the same benefit hat a Human does from 8 hours of sleep. While in this trance, a Dream Dwarf’s sentience roams the Plane of Dreams, refreshing his/her mind and body. Dream Dwarf Characters Fighters, Barbarians, and other classes that stress physical pursuits are largely absent in Dream Dwarf society. Clerics and other divine spellcasting classes are as well, as Dream Dwarves are predominantly atheistic. Arcane magicians and Psions make up the bulk of the Dream Dwarf population. Favored Class Because their society is driven by their pursuit to contact the Plane of Dreams, Psion is their favored class. The mental discipline and power of the class augment their ability to control their manifestations in the Plane of Dreams. Prestige Classes The Dream Dwarves have developed an almost exclusive Prestige Class in the Dream Walker. Most Psionic Prestige Classes can also be found within Dream Dwarf society as well. Society The Dream Dwarves, as a whole, are led by the elders of the community. Their main settlement, Khajadûn, is a gerontocracy, led by a council of the city’s oldest residents. The reasoning behind this is that, as the elders of the community, these individuals have lived the longest in both the Material Plane and in the Plane of Dreams, and are most knowledgeable. Dream Dwarves are not evil creatures, but in their obsession to unite with the Plane of Dreams, any sense of morals that they once had have disappeared. When they first came to Nilgoav Island, they enslaved the Goliath race. Though they continue to hold them in bondage to this day, it is not done out of maliciousness, or hate. The Dream Dwarves simply see the Goliath as an end to a means. They believe that dreamstones, which are only found in the Eukathom Mountains, aid with the projection of the mind into the Plane of Dreams. When they first came to the island, the Goliath already lived in the mountains. So, the Dream Dwarves enslaved the Goliath, to ensure that they had access to the dreamstones, and continue to keep them in bondage to perpetuate the hastened mining of the magical rock. The Dream Dwarves have no specific ill will against the Goliath, and would just have easily not enslaved them had they been living elsewhere. Dream Dwarves are wholly metaphysical dualists. That is, they believe that the body and the mind are two separate, entities. Of the two, they believe that the mind is of more importance than the body; after all, the mind can survive outside of the body, but in a body without a mind, there is no intelligence, just a piece of meat. As such, they live lives of intelligent hedonism. They believe that the mind is more important than the body, and ‘pamper’ and ‘spoil’ the mind with various kinds of stimulation, at the expense of the body. Using their Psionic powers, Dream Dwarves can communicate with each other, negating the need to even bother to use the physical body. In some extreme cases, individuals do indeed become paralyzed due to muscle atrophy. The Dream Dwarves, because of this fact, are fairly minimalist, in terms of artwork and similar things. Clothing, for example, is fairly basic, unisex, and is never flashy. Artwork- what little exists- is as well. Anything that is seen as worldly, by the Dream Dwarves, is allotted a much lesser deal of cultural importance than anything that is seen as having to do with the mind. They cover the clothing they wear in runes and other symbols that represent important personal experiences and aspirations. So, the saying is literally true concerning Dream Dwarves, that they wear their hopes and aspirations on their sleeves. They limited jewelry that they wear also has a similar function, with the belief that such trinkets and possessions aid an individual’s efforts to join with the Plane of Dreams. The sexes in their culture are fully equal. Anything that a male can do, a female can do. Anything a male can say, a female can say. While the obvious differences between males and females exist, other than these physical differences, males and females are observed the same. Because of the communal drive to enter into the Plane of Dreams, the traditional Dwarven system of clans has dissolved. Individual Dream Dwarves do not consider themselves members of specific clans, but rather, members of the Dream Dwarf race. This has also caused them to put less importance on birth and death, neither of which have any special ceremonies attached to them. Language and Literacy Dream Dwarves speak their own dialect of Dwarven. It is similar enough to mainstream Dwarven to be understood by others who speak the language, but is different enough to warrant being called it’s own dialect. What is distinct about the language is that it is very rarely spoken. The Dream Dwarves have developed a communal telepathy, of sorts, and communicate with each other in this manner more often than they do through actual speech. Dream Dwarf Magic and Lore Dream Dwarves are more familiar, and comfortable with psionics, rather than arcane or divine magic. Most Dream Dwarves choose to develop their own psionic powers, rather than learn other magical disciplines. They fully understand, and appreciate those who do, though. Because of their continual quest to unite themselves with the Plane of Dreams, the Dream Dwarves have developed numerous psionic powers, items, and even traditional magical items and spells to aid them in this obsession. It is though this obsession that the Dwarves developed the various enslavement spells and powers that were used on the Goliath do enslave them. Spells and Spellcasting The Dream Dwarves are the developers of numerous spells and psionic powers that are somehow tied to sleep and dreams, including Dream Travel, Lucid Dream, and Illusionary Dreamscape. Divination spells and powers are very commonly employed as well, for information gathering purposes. In the past, when they first came to Nilgoav Island, mind domination spells and powers were frequently used on the Goliath that they subjugated. Today, it is very rare for these spells to be employed, with the Goliath having become accustomed to being subservient to the Dream Dwarves. Magic Items Dream Dwarves rarely use their innate psionic powers to enchant mundane things, like weapons or armor. Only a rare few actually use these powers to augment weapons or armor, the reason being that, to Dream Dwarves, imbuing things with natural psionic powers creates an extension between the item and the creator that can possibly interfere with he/she permanently merging with the Plane of Dreams in the future. Most psionic items that the Dream Dwarves produce are dorjes or tattoos, because they are temporary items. Permanent items and effects are seen as possibly interfering with merging with the Plane of Dreams- that is, in imbuing items with magic, you imbue a part of yourself in the item, and this makes total immersion in the Plane of Dreams more difficult. Dream Dwarf Deities and Religion The Dream Dwarves have thrown away the theological beliefs of their forefathers, abandoned since the first “contact” with the Plane of Dreams. They do not worship Moradin, nor do they worship any other deities. They believe that the Plane of Dreams is a sentient entity, and seek to ultimately merge their own individual consciousnesses with it, but in the same way that Mindflayers seek to merge their individual consciousnesses with their Elder Brain, or Ilsensine. Relations with Other Races The Dream Dwarves live in relative isolation in and beneath the Eukathom Mountains. When they arrived on the island all those years ago, they subjugated the local Goliath population. They live side-by-side with the Goliath currently, and continue to keep them in bondage, even though the Goliath population is far larger than their own. The threat of punishment has instilled obedience in them over the years. The Dream Dwarves have had limited interaction with other races since becoming Dream Dwarves. They feel pity towards others who have not discovered the Plane of Dreams. Dream Dwarf Equipment The Dream Dwarves are an industrious race, but much of what they produce does not benefit others. The sole drive of most Dream Dwarves is to merge their essences with the Plane of Dreams, and as such, much of the industry that they have is devoted to furthering this goal, and does nothing for those not seeking such a union with the Plane of Dreams. Processing oneirium is their primary industry, though they do engage in more traditional Dwarven crafts for the purpose of raising money. Arms and Armor The metallurgy traditions that the Dream Dwarves developed before leaving Tanthalthud remain in use, but have been altered to reflect the changed priorities the Dream Dwarves have developed. Metal weapons and armors are still developed, but these items, as well as jewelry and other goods, are secondary to developing items that aid them in contacting the Plane of Dreams. As such, arms and armors are normally well crafted but bland, somewhat removed from normal Dwarven craftsmanship. Animals and Pets The few Dream Dwarves who demonstrate the capability to cast arcane magic often are summoners, who summon Earth Elementals, and other creatures, to aid them in mining the earth, and finding dreamstone. Asides for these examples, Dream Dwarves do not keep pets, other than their Goliath slaves. And, even in the case of the Goliath, they do not necessarily treat them like animals or pets. While the Dream Dwarves are not sorry for the Goliath, they do not go out of their way to treat them like animals. They simply see the race as having the task of providing for the Dream Dwarves, while they concentrate on achieving “contact” with the Plane of Dreams. Abilities and Racial Features -2 Constitution, -2 Strength, +2 Wisdom, +2 Intelligence Dream Dwarves take great pains to develop their conscious and unconscious minds, and the expense of their physical bodies. Medium: As Medium creatures, Dream Dwarves have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size. Dream Dwarf base land speed is 20 feet. However, Dream Dwarves can move at this speed even when wearing medium or heavy armor, or when carrying a medium or heavy load. Darkvision: Dream Dwarves can see in the dark out to 90 feet. Darkvision is black and white only, but is otherwise like normal sight, and Dream Dwarves can function just fine with no light at all. Weapon Familiarity: Dream Dwarves treat Dwarven waraxes and Dwarven urgroshes as martial weapons, rather than exotic weapons. Immunity to magic sleep effects, and a +2 racial saving throw bonus against enchantment spells or effects. Dream Sight (Su): Dream Dwarves can see ethereal creatures just as easy as they see material creatures and objects. A Dream Dwarf can easily distinguish between Ethereal creatures and material ones, because Ethereal creatures appear translucent and indistinct. Telepathy (Ex) Dream Dwarves can communicate with each other telepathically. Dream Dwarves may speak with each other telepathically for up to 120’. A message can be made directly between one individual and another, or for all within the 120’ (or less) radius. Naturally Psionic: Dream Dwarves gain 3 bonus Power Points at 1st Level. This benefit does not grant them the ability to manifest powers unless they gain that ability through another source, such as levels in a psionic class. Automatic Languages: Dwarven. Bonus Languages: Gol-Kaa, Terran. Favored Class: Psion